The $7.34 million buy covers two weeks of commercials beginning Wednesday in nine battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia–the same ones in which President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is advertising.FULL POST

(CNN) – Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is standing down for now on proposing his much-anticipated immigration plan, his office confirmed on Monday.

The decision came just days after President Barack Obama announced similar policies to that of Rubio's proposal, which would grant legal status for minors brought here illegally, providing they pursue higher education opportunities or serve in the military.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - A new offer of Justice Department records from a botched gun investigation might not be enough to stop a motion to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress, a House committee chairman said Monday.

Holder and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, are scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss Issa's demand for more documents relating to "Operation Fast and Furious," a federal firearms investigation that allowed hundreds of guns to reach Mexican drug gangs. Issa is the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Los Cabos, Mexico – Call it a case of appearances over substance. During brief remarks after President Obama’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday morning, the two leaders’ body language seemed to indicate the meeting had not gone well. They rarely looked at each other, never smiled and ended their meeting with a perfunctory handshake.

Reporters pounced on such a dramatic visual representation of what has recently been a somewhat troubled relationship. Russia has refused to go along with the United States and other nations in calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, and has blocked two U.N. Security Council Resolutions sanctioning the Syrian government.

(CNN) – Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who is running for re-election in West Virginia, said Monday he plans to sit out September's Democratic National Convention, the biggest gathering of the year for his party.

"I intend to spend this fall focused on the people of West Virginia, whether that's representing them in my official U.S. Senate duties or here at home, where I can hear about their concerns and ideas to solve the problems of this great nation," Manchin said in a statement.FULL POST

(CNN) - Artur Davis, a former Alabama congressman who switched voting Democrat to Republican, said he dropped his support for President Barack Obama out of frustration with what he described as the president's broken campaign promises.

Best known for seconding Obama's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, Davis said he had hoped Obama's presidency would make a huge dent in race relations, as well as move the Democratic Party further to the center.FULL POST

(CNN) - The Obama administration's key Catholic ally on its controversial plan to require health insurers to provide free contraceptive coverage is dropping support for the plan, potentially complicating the president's relations with Catholics in an election year.

The Catholic Health Association, which comprises 2,000 Catholic hospitals, health systems and related organizations, said Friday that although it had initially supported what the White House called a compromise on the contraception issue, it is now "deeply concerned" about the plan and says the White House "has not relieved our initial concerns."

CNN's GUT CHECK | for June 18, 2012 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING… MCGURK OUT: President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the ambassador to Iraq, Brett McGurk, has withdrawn his nomination for the post after racy e-mails surfaced about McGurk’s affair with a then-Wall Street Journal reporter who is now McGurk’s wife. In a letter to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, McGurk writes, “It is with a heavy heart that I write to withdraw my nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq. I am grateful for the continuing confidence that you have placed in me. But after much thought over the past week, and having discussed the issue with my wife, Gina, I believe it is in the best interests of the country, and of our life together, to withdraw my nomination and serve in another capacity.

BREAKING… ROGER CLEMENS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF PERJURY: Famed baseball pitcher Roger Clemens was found not guilty Monday of lying to Congress during an investigation of steroid use among major league players.

(CNN) - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has been tapped to play Mitt Romney in debate preparations for President Barack Obama, an Obama campaign official confirmed Monday.

Kerry will mimic the presumptive GOP nominee in debate practice, anticipating Romney's answers and speaking style so the president can know what to expect in their face-to-face showdowns this fall.FULL POST